LOCAL NEWS

LOCAL NEWS PWB - 19th AMENDMENT CENTENNIAL

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Dear Son: July 11 1920 Amendment, the women of our PWB Council held an informal meeting at The Vault in downtown Tulsa to Hurrah and vote for Suffrage and commemorate the centennial and to provide a brief don’t keep them in doubt. I noticed history of the suffragette movement. Chandlers’ speech, it was very Have you ever heard of Harry T. Burn? Well how you stood but have not seen you should get to know him! Harry was a 22-year-old anything yet ... Don’t forget to be a freshman Republican constituent in the Tennessee good boy and help “Mrs. Thomas General Assembly. The year was 1920. It was Harry’s 1st Catt” with her “Rats.” Is she the one Term and he was new to the legislative process. Women’s that put rat in ratification, Ha! No Right to Vote – the 19th Amendment or “Female Suffrage”, more from mama this time. was a hot topic. Those that wanted to ratify this constitutional amendment were called “Rats“. There were 35 of the Carrie Chapman Catt championed the Women’s 48 States that voted to ratify the 19th amendment. To Sufferage movement, “led an army of voteless women ratify the 19th Amendment, it needed 36 out of the 48 in 1919 to pressure Congress to pass the constitutional states to vote “yea”. Four states had yet to vote, and only amendment giving them the right to vote and convinced Tennessee agreed to call a special summer session. They state legislatures to ratify it in 1920”. Mr. Burn followed met in August 1920. Mr. Burn had originally intended his mother’s advice and voted “yea.” His vote broke the tie to vote for the amendment. After listening to the other in favor of ratifying the amendment. He said “I knew that elected, and had received misleading telegrams from his a mother’s advice is always safest for a boy to follow and constituents telling him his district was overwhelmingly my mother wanted me to vote for ratification.” opposed to Women’s Suffrage, he began to side with the Anti-Suffragists. Sharon King Davis, an aficionado on the subject, Twice, the Tennessee General Assembly called for gave this quote: “I cannot stress enough that OUR VOTES a vote, and twice, they were hopelessly deadlocked 48 - MATTER! We had a 72-year long struggle to have the right 48 yea vs. nea to ratify. to vote and it depended on one 22 year old man in his first Mr. Burn had a letter in his pocket from his mother. 1 vote.” Now, more than ever, our voices count. Our vote Just before the third vote he read the letter from his means something. Exercise your right! mother. The letter contained the following: bitter. I’ve been watching to see With lots of love, Mama. session. We have our right to vote, and it was decided by